Newly-emerging detector technologies enable the extension of visual perception to wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum that cannot be seen by the unaided human eye. These technologies involve the conversion of non-visible photons to electronic signals, which in turn are transformed into black and white or pseudo-colored visible images that are presented to a human observer.
Several portable video camera units for detecting infrared wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum are commercially available. Such products include the Milcam from Inframetrics, the Model TVS-600 from Avio, and the Model 545 from Flir Systems. The shortcomings of these cameras are exemplary of the general shortcomings of cameras that operate in the non-visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. While these cameras include infrared sensors for detecting infrared photons, some form of display for presenting a video image to an operator, and a user interface allowing a user to control the functioning of the camera, none of these cameras integrates a real-time video image recording capability. In order to record video images from these cameras, an external video cassette recorder must be connected to these cameras via a cable in order to record standard NTSC or PAL video to a video tape. The combination of one of such cameras and a video cassette recorder is bulky and unwieldy, and is inconvenient to use.
In the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, video camcorders are well-known consumer products for capturing moving images and recording those moving images on a storage medium such as a tape. Camcorders combine video imaging and recording functions in a single lightweight and portable unit. Such camcorders are typically ergonomically designed for ease of operation and transport.